Visit This Fascinating Seneca Site In New York For An Adventure Into The Past

Ganondagan State Historic Site is a Native American historic site located in the Town of Victor (not to be confused with the Village of Victor). The site actually consists of two areas - the most well-known, Boughton Hill, is approximately 245 acres and serves as the final resting place for many Native Americans from the Seneca tribe. There is also a smaller portion of the park that marks the location of the Jesuit Mission of St. James, a French missionary group that worked with the tribe.

Ganondagan was the largest Seneca town. It may look sleepy now, but it was once a thriving community!

It is nicknamed the "Town of Peace," as it is at the center of a Native American story in which a Huron man brought about a confederation between several different tribes, including the Seneca.

The fields at Ganondagan were used by the Seneca tribe to cultivate corn, beans, and squash.

The fields have now been primarily converted to walking paths for visitors to enjoy.

When the site was an active Seneca village, it was home to over 150 longhouses. Now, only this one reconstruction remains to let visitors imagine what the village looked like hundreds of years ago.

The longhouse is open seasonally for visitors to tour.

Sadly, the Seneca were driven from the area in the late 1600s by the Canadian army, who viewed them as rivals in the fur trade. The battles were known as the Beaver Wars.

The Friends of Ganondagan run an art and cultural center that regularly has classes and lectures to keep Native American traditions alive.

There are classes for activities like traditional corn porridge cooking. The site also hosts regular lectures from Native Americans from many different tribes and disciplines.

Each summer, the park hosts the Ganondagan Native American Dance and Music Festival, a massive celebration with over 4,000 attendees.

Native American artists have many wares on display, some available for purchase during the festival.

The historical site almost always has activities going on - you can check out their Facebook for a calendar of events.